Sapporo restaurant, Brighton

We have visited Sapporo on Preston Street, Brighton, twice now and both times i have left with a huge smile on my face and a wonderfully full belly.

Sapporo is a Tepanyaki restaurant, meaning that if you book early or are lucky you can be seated around the hot-plate and watch your food being cooked in front of you.

The menu is varied and tempting. There are several set menus that are well woth a go at about £25.50 a head. Although this isn't cheap, you will leave as full as an egg and very satisfied.

I opted for sushi to start. before Sapporo I had never been a fan of sushi but their maki and sashimi is to die for! the fish is delicate in flavour and not overly "fishy" and the portion sizes are just right. two of my companions decided to try the skewered chicken alternative and were very pleased with it, but I didn't get to try any...hurrumph!

One word of warning. if you do go for the sushi, be VERY careful with the wasabi horeseradish. it's hot. not spice, just HOT. Don't eat it all at once, you will regret it!

The nesxt part of the set meal is vegetable tempura. This is really yummy as the batter is absolutely as light as a feather and the vegetables (aubergine, courgette, sweet potato and peppers) are coooked brilliantly so they retain their flavour.

Just in case you're not starting to get full at this point (which we all were!), you are then bought a salad. This is a traditional salad with Sapporo's own dressing which acts as a palate cleanser before the main course.

This is the fun part. The tepanyaki chefs are truly artists, constantly working the food to ensure it cooks perfectly...keeping the hot-plate clean and timing the cookinf perfectly for each item.

My chosen menu included filet steak, king prawns and scallops. There is also an all meat version available with steak, chicken and pork, and other variations including sea bass which my husband ordered and was delicious.

My steak was cooked to my specification and was wonderfully rare and succulent. The marinate is out of this world. The scallops, served in a half shell looked and tasted fabulous, and the butterfly king prawns were amazing.

To go with your meat/fish you are also served with a bowl of boiled rice and some flash fried beansprouts.To be honest however, I barely dented these accompaniments. I was so busy eating the meat and fish I had no room for anything else!!

The service was excellent. The waiters polite and efficient and the chefs a real delight to watch.

I cannot recommend this restaurant highly enough and I have a wondrful tip for you. if you are in brighton mid-week early in the evening, a trip to Saporro will be considerably lighter on your pocket than normal. The whole menu, including the set meals is offered at half price to early birds, meaning you can eat all of the above for arounf £12.50 a person.....now that's value.